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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26565958">The Hunt for the Nest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yastaghr/pseuds/yastaghr'>yastaghr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scribbling is its own Language - Oneshots [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Inktale (Undertale), Errorink - Freeform, Errortale Sans (Undertale), Gift Fic, Gift Giving, Hide and Seek, Inktale Sans (Undertale), M/M, Sanscest - Freeform, errink - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:15:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,208</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26565958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yastaghr/pseuds/yastaghr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Error wants to leave a mark on the Doodle Sphere that his boyfriend, Ink, has just shown him. He comes up with a cheeky scheme to not only leave one, but tease Ink at the same time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Errorink, Sans/Sans (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scribbling is its own Language - Oneshots [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/667640</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>133</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Hunt for the Nest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic is for @Ly_the_creator on twitter! You can find them here: https://twitter.com/Ly_the_creator</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Error dusted off his hands happily, staring up at his handiwork. A giant nest of strings hung between two of the doors in Ink’s Doodle Sphere. Ever since the artist had invited him into his zone, Error had been trying to think up the perfect way to leave his mark on the island-filled space. His mind had kept wandering back to his strings. What else could be more him than that? The problem was what to do with them. Eventually, one day when he was visiting Birdtale, Error had the idea. Why not build a nest? He had seen non-sentient birds build them, and the bird-brains here did, too. Surely he could make something similar with string. And here it was!</p><p>The whole thing was easily big enough to hold both of them, even with the sprawl that artist mistakenly called sleeping. There were soft blankets inside and pillows, too. All, of course, were blue. Blue was his favorite color. Besides, Error wanted to use his own strings for this for… reasons. Someone else’s simply wouldn’t do.</p><p>Now came the fun part of building this: using the thing to tease Ink with. His plan was foolproof. It needed to be. Ink was definitely a fool. </p><p>Error opened up a quick portal out of the Doodle Sphere and into a random universe. He then jumped through about fifty other portals, sometimes opening up multiple holes or jumping back through the one he’d entered with, to muddy the trail. Only after he was starting to get tired did Error open the portal to the world he really wanted; it was the one that Ink was in. Why that idiot spent so much time in this universe was beyond him. There was nothing here except darkness. There wasn’t even a Sans. It was just empty, boring black everywhere you looked. A blank that its creator had abandoned long ago.</p><p>Ink spun around to face him even though Error knew he hadn’t made any noise. At first his face was just… blank. Blank just like this universe was. But then his eye lights, a blue heart and a green question mark, returned and a smile lit up his face. “Hey, Error! I was just thinking about you! Isn’t it weird that you would show up right after that?”</p><p>Error, thoughts derailed by the skatterbrain of the monster he loved, said, “i dOn't kNoW. wHy wErE YoU ThInKiNg aBoUt mE, oR Do i wAnT To kNoW?”</p><p>Ink grinned. His eye lights changed to an orange diamond and a yellow exclamation point. Uh oh. That wasn’t good at all.  “Oh! I was just thinking about how I’ve never seen you eat sushi. Do you like sushi?”</p><p>“WhAt-” Error started to say.</p><p>“I don’t like sushi because the little white thingies they use always get stuck up my nose,” Ink carried on talking, oblivious.</p><p>“yOu'rE NoT SuPpOsEd tO-” Error tried again.</p><p>“But at the same time I do like sushi because that little green stuff they put on the side makes my nose run! It’s really nice when I’ve got a cold. Just a drop of that and I’m cle-”</p><p>It was Error’s turn to interrupt. “INK!!!!”</p><p>Ink closed his mouth and looked at him, his left eye light shifting from the diamond into a blue heart. “What is it, Glitchy?”</p><p>“i'vE GoT A PrEsEnT FoR YoU.”</p><p>Those magic words had Ink’s full attention. He practically quivered with it. It was pathetic (definitely not impressive, no way) how much Ink gave off the impression that he was an exclamation mark in a skeletal body. “Gimme!”</p><p>“iT'S NoT HeRe, DuMbAsS,” Error said, rolling his mismatched eye lights fondly, “iT'S HiDdEn. If yOu wAnT It yOu hAvE To fInD It."</p><p>Now both of Ink’s eye lights were exclamation points: one green, one yellow. “Ooh! A puzzle gift! Those are the best kind! Where did you hide it? And don’t say “the multiverse” this time. That was almost impossible!”</p><p>Error chuckled. That had been a good one. Ink had been searching for weeks for that special easel Error had… acquired for him. He’d finally found it in Chocotale #021. “i dOn't kNoW WhAt yOu'rE TaLkInG AbOuT. i'm nOt gOiNg tO SaY ThAt. I WaS GoInG To sAy iT'S HiDdEn iN ThE DoOdLe sPhErE.”</p><p>Ink pouted. “That’s almost as bad! The Doodle Sphere has an island for every universe in the multiverse! You know that! It’s huge! It’ll take me days to search it all!”</p><p>Error’s grin was definitely cheeky. He was a glitch! What fun could a glitch have if there wasn’t a little cheek in his life? “yOu'd bEtTeR GeT StArTeD, tHeN, sQuId. ThAt pReSeNt iSn't gOiNg tO FiNd iTsElF!”</p><hr/><p>Several days later, Ink panted and leaned against the door to Ketotale. He’d been searching non-stop all this time, and he still couldn’t find that damned gift. He felt like he’d searched everywhere at least once, and it wasn’t nearly as much fun anymore - now it was just frustrating. So, Ink did the best thing he could think of doing, his default when a problem grew boring; he searched for someone to pester into helping him. Lucky for him, there was one monster who could be guaranteed to be helpful right now: Error.</p><p>Ink found him in Chocotale, which wasn’t that surprising. Error loved chocolate, so an entire world made out of nothing else was bound to appeal. He was munching on the shutters of someone’s house. Ink would have chastised him, but he knew for a fact that most of the inhabitants of Chocotale now had Destroyer Insurance™. That was absolute genius. </p><p>Ink poked the monster he wanted in his life more than any other in the back. Error glanced over his shoulder, an unimpressed expression on his face. He finished chewing the chocolate in his mouth with agonizing slowness. Ink stuck his tongue out at him. Rude. “i tHoUgHt yOu wErE SeArChInG FoR My pReSeNt. DiD YoU GeT BoReD AlReAdY? iT'S OnLy bEeN FoUr dAyS. yOu uSuAlLy lAsT LoNgEr tHaN ThIs.”</p><p>Ink huffed. “I have been! I’ve been looking nonstop all this time! I swear I’ve searched the entire Doodle Sphere, but I can’t find anything out of place! At least give me a hint, Error. Please~!”</p><p>Error rolled his eyes and turned back to his meal. The shutters were more than half destroyed at this point. Oh, well. “tHaT SoUnDs lIkE A PeRsOnAl pRoBlEm tO Me. I'M NoT GoInG To gIvE YoU AnY HiNtS UnTiL It's bEeN At lEaSt a wEeK.”</p><p>Ink’s pout was really something to behold. He had no idea what it looked like, but it usually worked on Error like nothing else would. Of course, for it to work Error would have to actually see it. Right now he couldn’t. Thus, the pokes would begin. They were spaced just far enough apart and just firm enough that Error couldn’t ignore them. Ink also moved the spot he was poking all around Error’s back at random so he couldn’t get used to the sensation in a particular place.</p><p>Error groaned and spun around to face him, annoyance in his eyes. “fInE! wHaT Is iT YoU WaNt tO KnOw, SqUiD?”</p><p>Ink grinned. Yes! Score! He won, and now he could ask… what’d he want to ask again? “Um…”</p><p>The glitch rolled his eyes. “tYpIcAl. HoW CaN YoU SaY YoU'Ve sEaRcHeD ThE EnTiRe dOoDlE SpHeRe iF YoU CaN'T EvEn rEmEmBeR WhAt wE'Re tAlKiNg aBoUt fOr tEn mInUtEs?”</p><p>A lightning bulb went off in his head. “Oh! Yeah! How is it that you can hide something in the Doodle Sphere that I know like the back of my hand? You’ve only spent a little bit of time there before, and it’s huge!” Error looked down. Ink followed his eyes to see his gloved hand. Oh, yeah. He didn’t exactly know what the back of his hand looked like, did he? “Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor, but you know what I mean!”</p><p>Error chuckled. “yEs, I Do. Do yOu, tHoUgH?”</p><p>It was Ink’s turn to glare. “Wow, rude. What have you been doing while I’ve been searching alone, hanging out with the Bad Sanses again?”</p><p>“wHo sAiD YoU WeRe sEaRcHiNg aLoNe?” Error said, and then he froze. Ink grinned triumphantly. Ah hah! Error had been following him, had he? “...CrAp, I ShOuLdN'T HaVe sAiD ThAt.”</p><p>“Too late, Mr. Stalker! What were you even doing following me around? Making sure I didn’t find it?” Ink asked, not really expecting an answer.</p><p>“mAyBe…” Error admitted.</p><p>Ink narrowed his eyes. “And how were you doing that? You weren’t distracting me because I didn’t see you there, so what…?”</p><p>“oKaY, oKaY! i wAs mOvInG It, OkAy? AnY TiMe yOu gOt cLoSe tO ThE PrEsEnT I WoUlD MoVe iT SoMePlAcE ElSe. I DiDn't wAnT YoU FiNdInG It tOo sOoN, dId i?” Error finally admitted the infuriating truth.</p><p>“Cheater!” Ink accused the monster he loved, “That’s cheating! No fair!”</p><p>Error rolled his eyes. “oH, tHaT'S So mAtUrE, iNk. It's nOt lIkE YoU DiDn't cHeAt lAsT TiMe, EiThEr. ReCrUiTiNg yOuR ViSiTiNg dOpPlEgAnGeR In oRdEr tO MaKe mE ThInK YoU'Ve fIgUrEd oUt hOw tO BrEaK PhYsIcS WiThOuT MaGiC Is sO ChEaTiNg.”</p><p>Ink huffed. “Fine then. I still think this is too much. You owe me a favor for this!”</p><p>“fInE,” Error huffed back at him, “wHaT KiNd oF FaVoR DiD YoU HaVe iN MiNd? dId yOu wAnT Me tO KnIt yOu sOmEtHiNg? PuT AnOtHeR UnIvErSe oN ThE UnToUcHaBlE LiSt?”</p><p>Ink’s triumphant grin returned. “I want you to show me where this present is!”</p><p>Error blinked at him. Ink knew that expression. It was one of bewilderment. “tHaT'S AlL? yOu jUsT WaNt mE To hElP YoU FiNd mY PrEsEnT? rEaLlY?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Ink said with a smile. “I didn’t say it was going to be a big favor, and I want to know!”</p><p>“Do yOu wAnT Me tO Do tHaT NoW?” Error asked, still stunned.</p><p>“Yeah! Come on, Glitchy, let’s go!” Ink said, grabbing Error’s hand and pulling out Broomy. He was just about to spill some ink for a portal when Error pulled his hand out of Ink’s. The artist eyed Error with confusion in his eyes. </p><p>“tHeRe's nO FuCkInG WaY We'rE TaKiNg oNe oF YoUr pOrTaLs. ThEy mAkE Me sIcK To mY StOmAcH,” Error complained, sticking his tongue out and cocking his hand to act. “i'm gOiNg tO OpEn mY OwN PoRtAl. If yOu sTiLl wAnT To uSe yOuR MoNsTrOsItY YoU CaN. i'lL MeEt yOu aT ThE HoUsE.”</p><p>With that, Error stepped through a glitching portal into the gold-tinted landscape. Ink quickly dove in after him. He had intended to roll to his feet, but he misjudged the height of the portal off the ground and ended up planting face-first into the dirt. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and grass. It didn’t taste too bad, honestly. It was just… weird. Granulated and chlorophyll-y. Yep, definitely weird.</p><p>“aRe yOu dOnE EaTiNg tHe fUcKiNg dIrT Or aRe yOu gOiNg bAcK FoR AnOtHeR MoUtHfUl?” Error’s glitchy voice asked from above him. Ink jumped up, spat out another piece of grass, and smiled at the monster who fascinated him more than any other. As was typical for him, Error said, “wOw, YoUr tEeTh aRe aLmOsT A PrOpEr cOlOr nOw! StIlL ToO BlUe, BuT ThAt's tO Be eXpEcTeD. yOu nEvEr cOuLd mAnAgE A PrOpEr yElLoW, eVeN ThAt tImE YoU TrIeD To dReSs uP As mE FoR ThE CoStUmE BaLl. ReAlLy, WhAtEvEr mAdE YoU ThInK My tEeTh aRe tHe sAmE CoLoUr aS MaRmAlAdE?”</p><p>Ink tapped his chin, trying to remember whatever event Error was talking about. He couldn’t. “Did that really happen, or are you making something up again?”</p><p>Error grinned, “i'm mAkInG SoMeThInG Up.”</p><p>“Oh. Yay.” Ink said it with as little emotion as he could get without taking paint thinner. “Can we go find my present now?”</p><p>Error rolled his eye lights, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “yEaH, yOu rAiNbOw bAsTaRd. We cAn gO FiNd yOuR PrEsEnT. fOlLoW Me.” He turned on his heel and walked to the edge of the island. Then he leapt up to the next one. </p><p>Ink rolled his eye lights and just used his paint. It was so much faster! He could just use the puddles of paint that every island had and teleport without needing to jump.</p><p>They went between enough islands that Ink had forgotten what they were searching for. All he knew was that he was following Error somewhere. When he saw it, though, he knew exactly what it was. The nest was hanging between Pediatale #002 and Underhood #410. It looked amazing! It was huge, and it was full of pillows, and it was cool! </p><p>Ink found himself getting so happy that he started floating. He giggled, the extreme amount of happiness he was using overriding any fear that he might drift away. Then that teeny bit of fear vanished when Error’s strings wrapped around his ankle.</p><p>“dOn't fLoAt aWaY NoW, sQuId. GeT BaCk dOwN HeRe aNd cUdDlE WiTh mE!” Error demanded. </p><p>Ink giggled some more and complied. He let Error’s strings tow him into the nest, where he floated down to Error’s side. He nestled into the soft, fluffy bed of the nest and sighed. This was just about perfect. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on:</p><p>Pillowfort - https://www.pillowfort.social/Yastaghr<br/>Tumblr - https://yastaghr.tumblr.com<br/>Twitter - https://twitter.com/yastaghr * Most active</p></blockquote></div></div>
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